The Third Best Restaurant in Africa

Yesterday was the first day of Ramadan. As a result, my Arabic class started at 7.30 a.m. and was over by 9. Then, after some celebratory gym-going and library-sitting, the roommates and I went out for sushi.

Or, we tried to go out for sushi. When we got to the restaurant, Le Asiatique, we discovered that it was closed. Conveniently, this restaurant is located on one of the Nile boats in which are many other dining locations, so we relocated to the nearby Le Steak.

Not the best restaurant title for me. But we were assured that the sushi was also served there, and were handed Le Asiatique menus. To come to my title above, a banner on the way into the boat claimed that Le Asiatique is the Number One Best Restaurant in Egypt, and Number Three Best Restaurant in Africa. This means that the top two restaurants in Africa are outside of Egypt. So where are they? And why is the best restaurant in Egypt Asian?

Here are roommates 1 and 6 in our booth:


Once we settled in, we were given a plethora of napkins. See, upon sitting, Roommate 2 and I had both put our napkins on our laps. The waiters promptly replaced these napkins with new, nicely folded ones.

The only thing to do with a surplus of napkins in front of you is, of course, to make napkin hats.

Do we look more like pilgrims or pirates? The table was undecided. But once the hats unraveled, there was a consensus that we looked like brides.

If you're wondering what the Number One Best food in Egypt tastes like, I can't tell you. I tried to order a vegetable stir fry only to be informed that Le Steak offered only the meat-ful sushi side of Le Asiatique's menu. Le Steak's menu was exclusively carnivorous, but they hinted at an addition menu for Lebanese mezza. So, upon receiving the third menu of the evening (I thought about menu hats, but time was of the essence), I got babaganoush and falafel. It was good, but I'm not sure if it would conquer the taste buds of a continent.